“On love alone you can’t survive,”Was her cool reply.“Love can’t feed or clotheOr give a good life-A mansion with a garden,Cars and servants besides,Gowns of silk and diamond necklaces,Say, can love provide these?”

“Poverty and love are strange bed-fellows,”She reasoned further,As the boy stood dumbstruck,“Love wilts in the face of adversity,Turns stale with prolonged penury;You see, the stream of love runs dryIn the terrain of harsh reality.”

“Money isn’t everything either,”He countered, his eyes flashing,“It can build a palace but not a home;And though in pursuit of joy,Far and wide you may roam,It can buy you only comforts, not happiness,Platters of good food but not good health,Gift you with flatterers but not true friends.Tell me, can all the wealth on earthGuarantee calm and peace of mind?”

But she only sighed and tossed her head,“Spoken truly like the idle dreamerThat you are, and now I’m afraid,It’s goodbye forever….”

A fortnight later, it was her wedding day,Dancing and feasting, all looked gay;Bedecked with jewels and flowersAnd wearing a radiant smile,Her beauty could put Venus herself to shame.The groom arrived, he held her hand,And soon they were man and wife.

That night, demure and coy,And trembling like an aspen leafOn a windy day,She entered the bridal chamberWhere he sat waiting.

But his forehead was fraught with worry,And before she could speak a word,He said in a rush: “Darling, I’m sorry,But I thought you should know,Since this beauteous day we sworeTo partake of mirth and sorrow-The stocks have crashed, my accounts frozen,And now I’ll have to start from scratch;But don’t you worry dear,They say love that starts with struggleEndures till the last, have no fear.”

Whether love did indeed doubleIn hardship, he never came to know,For she swooned, entangled in the rubbleOf a thousand shattered dreams.

But Fate had more in store for her,For the next day, on opening the newspaper,Her former lover’s face smirked at her,Under a headline that screamed:“YOUNG POET WINS MILLION-DOLLAR AWARD”